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Shore leave was a rare and beautiful thing, York thought, grinning widely at Carolina as she played with the label of her beer.
“What are you smiling about?” She asked him, bright green eyes glistening in the dim light of the bar.
“Why, the pretty girl beside me, of course,” he said.
She laughed at him. “York.”
“What?” He said, grinning even wider. “It’s true!”
She wacked his arm playfully. “That can’t be all of it!”
“Can’t it?” He took another drink from his beer. “I mean, I get to spend tonight with you, the odds of someone shooting at us are fairly low, and there aren’t any helmets stopping me from getting to see your pretty face.”
She kicked him lightly. “Only ‘fairly low’?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Hey, I’m not the rookie here. I’m not going to tempt fate,” York said, raising his hands slightly.
“He did that once,” she said.
“D has done the numbers,” York said, moving slightly closer to her. “Trust me, it’s more often than that.”
“Doesn’t Delta have better things to do?”
<Yes> Delta said, but he couldn’t say it out loud, or risk drawing attention to them.
“Oh yes. But even an AI gets bored sometimes.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Carolina was letting him get very close. York grinned. Shore leave was fantastic. The only thing Carolina could get competitive about was darts or bar trivia, and he could have fun with that.
York reached around and wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
She let out a small yelp that sounded like a giggle.
He paused, staring at her.
“No way,” he said, starting to grin wider.
“York—” She said, narrowing her eyes at him.
He moved his fingers. She let out a small squawk.
“You are!” He grinned widely.
“I know thirteen different ways to kill you using only the materials surrounding us.”
“You have a gun on you, that’s not thinking very creatively,” York said, grinning mischievously.
“Don’t you dare—” She grabbed his wrist when he moved it again. He slipped his other hand past, though, and started tickling.
Carolina yelped again, grabbing his other hand. “You won’t mention this to anyone,” she snapped.
“C’mon, who’d I tell? We’re almost always wearing armor,” he said. She still was holding his wrists tightly. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She glowered at him, not impressed, but she wasn’t pushing him away. “Cross my heart.”
“I’m going to regret this,” she growled. He wanted to laugh; she looked so beautiful and fierce. And all this over the knowledge of her being ticklish.
Well, it wasn’t like York couldn’t have fun with this knowledge. Fun that he was hardly about to share with the others.
He grinned, and pulled his hands away so he could kiss her again. He hooked his hands around her waist, pulling her close. She relaxed slightly as she grabbed the collar of his shirt and held him in place, deepening the kiss.
“C’mon,” he whispered when they broke apart, breathing heavily. “Let’s get out of here.” He moved his fingers against her shirt, just enough to make her jump.
“I’m going to make you pay for that,” she muttered, green eyes flashing brightly and he grinned even wider.
“Oh, I’m looking forward to it.” He kissed her again, cupping her face in his hands, and then pulled away. She looked at him with the fond exasperation that was so familiar but it still delighted him to see.
God, he loved this woman.
“Race you to the hotel,” he whispered in her ear, brushing aside a strand of her hair.
Instantly, the moment broke, just like he knew it would. Her eyes glittered brightly, and any tender thoughts evaporated, and even plans of vengeance.
“Oh, you’re on!” She was already off the stool and out the door, leaving him with the empty beer bottles and her laugh. She was always faster than him. He didn’t mind at all.
York laughed, and started to run after her through the streets of the city.